WATERBURY, VT -- Keurig Green Mountain Inc. said it is opening a manufacturing facility for its new Cold platform in Douglas County, GA. According to Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, the venture will involve an investment of some $337 million over five years and will create about 550 jobs. Douglas County is part of the greater metropolitan Atlanta area, located west of the city.

The new 585,000-sq.ft. manufacturing center will support the production of pods for Keurig's in-home cold beverage system. Early this year, Keurig and Coca-Cola announced that they had formed a long-term global strategic partnership to collaborate on the development and introduction of Coca-Cola's global brand portfolio for use in the Keurig Cold beverage system. Currently under development, the new platform is slated to debut in Keurig's 2015 fiscal year. | SEE STORY

"Keurig Cold is an exciting new multi-brand platform for our company, and ensuring beverage pod production capacity and efficiency are key to its success," said Keurig's president and chief executive Brian Kelley. "The Douglas County region offers a diverse and skilled employee base as well as many geographic and economic benefits, making it a great location for our new facility."

Keurig currently maintains seven production and distribution facilities in the U.S. They're in Castroville, CA, Knoxville, TN; Windsor, VA, and Sumner, WA, as well as Essex, Waterbury and Williston, VT. It also has a Canadian facility in Montreal. The company conducts research and development activities in facilities in Burlington, Reading and Wakefield, MA, and at its Waterbury headquarters facility. The Douglas County site will complement the company's new early production center in Williston, VT, which will serve as a hub for Keurig Cold startup and early production work.